Panchayats In Hoshiarpur Move Against Migrants After Child’s Murder

A brutal crime has shaken Hoshiarpur district after a five-year-old boy was abducted, sexually assaulted, and murdered on the evening of September 9. The child, who was playing outside his house, was later found dead at a cremation ground in the Pur Hiran locality the next morning. Police arrested Manke Yadav, a migrant labourer from Uttar Pradesh residing in the Subzi Mandi area, in connection with the incident.

According to PTI, police said the accused, an alleged alcoholic, lured the boy, assaulted him, and strangled him. The post-mortem report confirmed multiple injuries on the child’s body. The incident has triggered widespread public anger in Hoshiarpur city and adjoining villages. Visuals of the victim and videos of the grieving family circulated widely on social media, further fuelling resentment among locals.

In the days following the crime,as cited by PTI, more than 25 village panchayats in the region passed resolutions to stop verifying documents of migrant labourers who do not possess valid identity papers from Punjab. On September 13, sarpanches from villages including Chak Sadhu, Nandan, Singhpur, Bassi Bahian, Allahabad, Bilaspur, Anandgarh, and others met in Bajwara village to discuss the issue. A resolution was passed stating that undocumented migrants would no longer be allowed to reside in their villages. The sarpanches also submitted a memorandum to Hoshiarpur Deputy Commissioner Aashika Jain, seeking support from the district administration.

According to the Hindu, Bajwara sarpanch Rajesh Kumar Bobby Mahe said migrants without valid ID have been asked to vacate village areas. Even those with documents like Aadhaar or PAN have been informed that if any of their relatives arrive from outside, the panchayat will not attest their papers. Mahe added that migrant workers living on rent will now be allowed to do so only if their landlords submit a written undertaking to the panchayat, taking full responsibility for them.

According to The Hindu, Mahe also alleged that many of the 200-250 migrants currently living in Bajwara have encroached on common panchayat land and built permanent structures, complete with electricity meters and water connections, without permission. He said these individuals do not pay rent and a complaint regarding this matter had already been submitted to the deputy commissioner on September 8, a day before the murder took place.

Responding to questions from the media, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said that while the incident was deeply tragic and disturbing, the response must not involve discrimination against migrant workers. He emphasized that people from Punjab live and work in other states like Chhattisgarh and such selective exclusion could set a dangerous precedent. “Tomorrow they could be sent out as well. There cannot be such discrimination,” he said.